John Swinney warns Donald Trump tariffs on whisky are 'very damaging' to Scottish economy
EXCLUSIVE: The First Minister said the removal of the 10 per cent levy on Scotch exported to the US must be a "negotiating priority".
John Swinney has warned Donald Trump's tariffs on whisky are "very damaging" to the Scottish economy.
The First Minister said the removal of the 10 per cent levy on all bottles of Scotch exported to the US must be a "negotiating priority" for the UK Government.
The SNP leader spoke out this week after drinks industry giant Diageo, which owns 30 distilleries across Scotland, said it would lose £113m a year as a result of the US President's tariffs system.
The maker of the world-leading Johnnie Walker brand is planning to slash costs across the company as a result.
The recent UK-US trade deal announced by Keir Starmer made no mention of Scotland's national drink - but final details of the agreement are still being hammered out by officials in London and Washington.
Asked by the Record if he was pushing for tariffs to be removed from Scotch, the First Minister said: "We've had a number of discussions in relation to whisky. We recognise the importance of the whisky industry for Scotland.
"Tariffs on the whisky industry are very damaging to the economic well-being of Scotland, and we need to counter that. So a negotiating priority has to be the removal of tariffs across the board, but particularly for the whisky industry in Scotland."
The whisky industry supports an estimated 41,000 jobs and is Scotland's second most productive sector behind energy. Its worth to the UK economy reached £7.1 billion in 2022.
The US has long been the largest export market by value for Scotch, worth £971m in 2024.
The Scotch Whisky Association, which represents distillers, previously said the UK-US draft trade deal was "welcome progress".
A spokesperson added: "We continue to support this measured and pragmatic approach in the weeks ahead so that Scotch Whisky can return to the zero-for-zero tariff agreement with our friends and partners in the US whiskey industry as soon as possible.'
The Record previously reported how Trump's administration could have a "catastrophic" impact on the industry with production cut back as a result.
During his first stint in charge, Trump imposed retaliatory tariffs on imports of Scotch whisky between October 2019 and March 2021 - costing £600 million in exports.
"It was catastrophic: we lost 25 per cent of our US business, Daniel Sherry of Ian Macleod Distillers said in February.
"People are feeling the pinch and the industry has taken a big, big hit," he added. "To have tariffs on top of that would be a two-punch combination.
"Some distillers are looking at cutting back on their production already, having grown it every year for two decades. This tariff talk has instilled some panic.'
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